With offices and employees spread across the globe, sometimes it takes time to get to know everyone. In our series ‘What The #&@$ Do You Do?!’ (WTFDYD), The Orchard highlights Orchardites from all over the world to learn more about their role at The Orchard and experience working in the music industry.
Airene, tell us about what the *&^# you do!
My official title is Associate Art Director and I oversee the Design Team, which is a part of the Marketing Department. My day to day includes managing design requests that come from all our global offices and distributing work to designers.
Part of my role is to leverage each designer’s strengths and skills and tie that into the projects we receive. Finally, I create and design as well, the projects I really enjoy working on are branding projects that allow me to think and visualize how a concept and design system can be applied across different mediums.
How does your role / department fit into The Orchard?
I lead a team of incredibly hard-working and talented designers/developers that create pretty much anything considered “creative.” We support the marketing teams from different offices across The Orchard and assist them with their marketing campaigns by designing creative assets that range from Instagram AR Filters to creative still and video assets for social media.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is being able to create and solve problems visually on a daily basis. I consider myself lucky to be able to have a career in something that I’m passionate about, especially when the Design industry is so competitive and over saturated with talented designers.
What’s a campaign/project you are proud to have worked on?
I’m really proud to have worked on The Orchard’s first Student Series alongside Brand Marketing. Not only did I have the opportunity to create the whole branding for the series, but I also took part in two panels about Design. Prior to that series, I had no experience with being a panel speaker, and while it was daunting at first, the whole experience became gratifying after I saw how many students were engaged and really appreciated the insights we were able to provide.
How did you first get started in the music industry?
My first introduction to the music industry was an internship with Waxpoetics Magazine while I was still attending School of Visual Arts. It allowed me to meet people that were so passionate about music and I wanted to continue being surrounded by that energy and passion. They were also some of the most generous and encouraging people I had ever worked with, which motivated me to continue working in the music industry. A few years after my internship, I landed a job at Universal Music Group, where I had the opportunity to work on marketing campaigns for Nicki Minaj, Drake and Erykah Badu.
What advice do you have for independent artists / those who want to break into the industry?
Be true to yourself, focus on the music that speaks to you and connect with your fans.
What artist have you been listening to on repeat lately?
I’ve been listening to a lot of SAULT, Q, Steve Lacy, and Hope Tala recently. I’ve also been revisiting old catalogs by Kelis, N.E.R.D and Frank Ocean.
What’s your favorite thing about working at The Orchard?
My amazing design team! Everyone is so talented and enthusiastic about design, I love working and learning from each one of them. Also, it’s been amazing to watch their growth as designers, seeing them hone their strengths and continuously improve their skills. It’s very inspiring and motivates me to be a better designer.
Favorite tradition at The Orchard?
Halloween Trick-or-Treating and the Thanksgiving Potluck
How do you discover new music?
I love stumbling on a song or artist that I like and some of the ways I discover them are through playlists and soundtracks to movies/shows.
What’s something you’ve learned outside of work that helps you to be your best self at work?
I’ve learned to trust my instincts, which has helped me be more decisive and vocal about the things that matter to me the most. Sometimes there’s a lot of differing opinions that can sway your views, but at the end of the day, if your values don’t align with your decisions, then you’re not being true to yourself.
